Great Bay (DCOMM):--- Executive Director of the Tallahassee-Sint Maarten Foundation (TLH-SXMF) Arthur (Arturo) Lugisse, was instrumental in recommending Isidore York, the "Mighty Dow", to be an inductee in the Hall of Fame/Lifetime Award in the International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA).
The award will be presented to Mighty Dow at the 30th IRAWMA celebration that will be held at the state of the art National Academy for the Performing Arts in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago on May 28, 2011.
Another local artist Addie Richardson better known as the "Shadow Man," on the recommendation of TLH-SXMF was invited to be a presenter at the 30th anniversary of IRAWMA.
"The ongoing connections and efforts by TLH-SXMF to make a difference based on the Tallahassee-SintMaarten Sister City Agreement has brought a marketing and promotion opportunity for both Sint Maarten artist and the island.
"We can make a difference in using this package to create socio-economic development by ongoing support of both public and private sectors," Executive Director of TLH-SXMF Arthur Lugisse said on Tuesday.
Lugisse has also taken on the task of marketing and promoting the Mighty Dow at an internationasl level.
"It is expected that TLH-SXMF will put together a minimum of 10 persons to accompany both Mighty Dow and Shadow Man to Trinidad comprising of tourism, media, businesses, family and friends to help promote the event and the country.
"Both artists have accepted the invitation to be present at the IRASWMA event. It is hopeful that this event might come to Sint Maarten next year. Ephraim Martin has special interest in Sint Maarten as it's also his name sake. The Tallahassee-Sint Maarten Foundation will continue to seek ways and means to promote Country Sint Maarten based on its program for 2011-2014," TLH-SXMF Executive Director Arthur Lugisse concluded.
The primary objective of Martin's International & Associates is to promote reggae, Caribbean, African and other world music as an art form and as a vehicle for the expression of the voiceless peoples of the world.
Each year, the IRAWMA honours entertainers and others associated with world music for their contributions to the industry and to humanity internationally. More than 17 million fans viewed broadcast and clips on television and the internet, of the 29th IRAWMA last year.
In 1979, Jacob Miller and Bob Marley encouraged photo-journalist Ephraim Martin to get involved with the entertainment industry. Ephraim wasn't convinced that the music industry was his cup of tea. With further urging from Peter Tosh, Tommy Cowan and Copeland Forbes, Ephraim decided to give music a try.
With his international contacts in Africa, Europe, Japan and the Caribbean, Ephraim established the Youth for the Upliftment of Reggae (YPR) in 1981. He laid the ground work for the first Reggae Awards, whose motto was "the promotion of reggae as an art form and a vehicle of expression for the voiceless peoples of the world". The following year the YPR was disbanded and Martin's International was incorporated.
